Discovery of cardio-protective constituents of Gualou Xiebai Decoction, a classical traditional Chinese medicinal formula

Evaluation of the anti-atherosclerotic effect for Allium macrostemon Bge. Polysaccharides and structural characterization of its a newly active fructan

Allium Macrostemon Bge. (AMB) is a well-known homology of herbal medicine and food that has been extensively used for thousands of years to alleviate cardiovascular diseases. It contains a significant amount of polysaccharides, yet limited research exists on whether these polysaccharides are responsible for its cardiovascular protective effects. In this study, the anti-atherosclerosis effect of the crude polysaccharides of AMB (AMBP) was evaluated using ApoE-/- mice fed a high-fat diet, along with ox-LDL-induced Thp-1 foam cells. Subsequently, guided by the inhibitory activity of foam cells formation, a major homogeneous polysaccharide named AMBP80-1a was isolated and purified, yielding 11.1 % from AMB. The molecular weight of AMBP80-1a was determined to be 10.01 kDa. AMBP80-1a was firstly characterized as an agavin-type fructan with main chains consisting of →1)-β-d-Fruf-(2→ and →1,6)-β-d-Fruf-(2→ linked to an internal glucose moiety, with →6)-β-d-Fruf-(2→ and β-d-Fruf-(2→ serving as side chains. Furthermore, the bio-activity results indicated that AMBP80-1a reduced lipid accumulation and cholesterol contents in ox-LDL-induced Thp-1 foam cell. These findings supported the role of AMBP in alleviating atherosclerosis in vivo/vitro. AMBP80-1a, as the predominant homogeneous polysaccharide in AMB, was expected to be developed as a functional agent to prevent atherosclerosis.

Network pharmacology analysis and experimental verification of the antithrombotic active compounds of trichosanthis pericarpium (Gualoupi) in treating coronary heart disease

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Trichosanthis pericarpium (TP; Gualoupi, pericarps of Trichosanthes kirilowii Maxim) has been used in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) to reduce heat, resolve phlegm, promote Qi, and clear chest congestion. It is also an essential herbal ingredient in the "Gualou Xiebai" formula first recorded by Zhang Zhongjing (from the Eastern Han Dynasty) in the famous TCM classic "Jin-Guì-Yào-Lüe" for treating chest impediments. According to its traditional description, Gualou Xiebai is indicated for symptoms of chest impediments, which correspond to coronary heart diseases (CHD).

AIM OF THE STUDY

This study aimed to identify the antithrombotic compounds in Gualoupi for the treatment of CHD.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A CHD rat model was established with a combination of high-fat diet and isoproterenol hydrochloride (ISO) administration via subcutaneous multi-point injection in the back of the neck. This model was used to evaluate the antithrombotic effect of two mainstream cultivars of TP ("HaiShi GuaLou" and "WanLou") by analyzing the main components and their effects. Network pharmacology, molecular docking-based studies, and a zebrafish (Danio rerio) thrombosis model induced by phenylhydrazine was used to validate the antithrombosis components of TP.

RESULTS

TP significantly reduced the body weight of the CHD rats, improved myocardial ischemia, and reduced collagen deposition and fibrosis around the infarcted tissue. It reduced thrombosis in a dose-dependent manner and significantly reduced inflammation and oxidative stress damage. Cynaroside, isoquercitrin, rutin, citrulline, and arginine were identified as candidate active TP compounds with antithrombotic effects. The key potential targets of TP in thrombosis treatment were initially identified by molecular docking-based analysis, which showed that the candidate active compounds have a strong binding affinity to the potential targets (protein kinase C alpha type [PKCα], protein kinase C beta type [PKCβ], von Willebrand factor [vWF], and prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 1 [PTGS1], fibrinogen alpha [Fga], fibrinogen beta [Fgb], fibrinogen gamma [Fgg], coagulation factor II [F2], and coagulation factor VII [F7]). In addition, the candidate active compounds reduced thrombosis, improved oxidative stress damage, and down-regulated the expression of thrombosis-related genes (PKCα, PKCβ, vWF, PTGS1, Fga, Fgb, Fgg, F2, and F7) in the zebrafish model.

CONCLUSION

Cynaroside, isoquercitrin, rutin, citrulline, and arginine were identified as the active antithrombotic compounds of TP used to treat CHD. Mechanistically, the active compounds were found to be involved in oxidative stress injury, platelet activation pathway, and complement and coagulation cascade pathways.

Effect of traditional Chinese medicine on metabolism disturbance in ischemic heart diseases

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Ischemic heart diseases (IHD), characterized by metabolic dysregulation, contributes majorly to the global morbidity and mortality. Glucose, lipid and amino acid metabolism are critical energy production for cardiomyocytes, and disturbances of these metabolism lead to the cardiac injury. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), widely used for treating IHD, have been demonstrated to effectively and safely regulate the cardiac metabolism reprogramming.

AIM OF THE REVIEW

This study discussed and analyzed the disturbed cardiac metabolism induced by IHD and development of formulas, extracts, single herb, bioactive compounds of TCM ameliorating IHD injury via metabolism regulation, with the aim of providing a basis for the development of clinical application of therapeutic strategies for TCM in IHD.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

With "ischemic heart disease", "myocardial infarction", "myocardial ischemia", "metabolomics", "Chinese medicine", "herb", "extracts" "medicinal plants", "glucose", "lipid metabolism", "amino acid" as the main keywords, PubMed, Web of Science, and other online search engines were used for literature retrieval.

RESULTS

IHD exhibits a close association with metabolism disorders, including but not limited to glycolysis, the TCA cycle, oxidative phosphorylation, branched-chain amino acids, fatty acid β-oxidation, ketone body metabolism, sphingolipid and glycerol-phospholipid metabolism. The therapeutic potential of TCM lies in its ability to regulate these disturbed cardiac metabolisms. Additionally, the active ingredients of TCM have depicted wonderful effects in cardiac metabolism reprogramming in IHD.

CONCLUSION

Drawing from the principles of TCM, we have pinpointed specific herbal remedies for the treatment of IHD, and leveraged advanced metabolomics technologies to uncover the effect of these TCMs on metabolomics alteration. In the future, further clinical experimental studies should be included to explore whether more TCM medicines can play a therapeutic role in IHD by reversing cardiac metabolism disorders; multi-omics would be conducted to explore more pathways and genes targeting such metabolism reprogramming by TCMs, and to seek more TCM therapies for IHD.

Five-layer-funnel filtering mode discovers effective components of Chinese medicine formulas: Zhishi-Xiebai-Guizhi decoction as a case study

BACKGROUND

How to screen and identify the effective components in the complex substance system is one of the core issues in achieving the modernization of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) formulas. However, it is still challenging to systematically screen out the effective components from the hundreds or thousands of components in a TCM formula.

PURPOSE

An innovative five-layer-funnel filtering mode stepwise integrating chemical profile, quantitative analysis, xenobiotic profile, network pharmacology and bioactivity evaluation was successfully presented to discover the effective components and implemented on a case study of Zhishi-Xiebai-Guizhi decoction (ZXG), a well-known TCM formula for coronary heart disease (CHD).

METHODS

Initially, the chemical profile of ZXG was systemically characterized. Subsequently, the representative constituents were quantitatively analyzed. In the third step, the multi-component xenobiotics profile of ZXG was systemically delineated, and the prototypes absorbed into the blood were identified and designated as the primary bioavailable components. Next, an integrated network of "bioavailable components-CHD targets-pathways-therapeutic effects" was constructed, and the crucial bioavailable components of ZXG against CHD were screened out. Lastly, the bioactivities of crucial bioavailable components were further evaluated to pinpoint effective components.

RESULTS

First of all, the chemical profile of ZXG was systemically characterized with the detection of 201 components. Secondly, 37 representative components were quantified to comprehensively describe its content distribution characteristics. Thirdly, among the quantified components, 24 bioavailable components of ZXG were identified based on the multi-component xenobiotic profile. Fourthly, an integrated network led to the identification of 11 crucial bioavailable components against CHD. Ultimately, 9 components (honokiol, magnolol, naringenin, magnoflorine, hesperidin, hesperetin, naringin, neohesperidin and narirutin) exhibiting myocardial protection in vitro were identified as effective components of ZXG for the first time.

CONCLUSION

Overall, this innovative strategy successfully identified the effective components of ZXG for the first time. It could not only significantly contribute to elucidating the therapeutic mechanism of ZXG in the treatment of CHD, but also serve as a helpful reference for the systematic discovery of effective components as well as ideal quality markers in the quality assessment of TCM formulas.

Effects of Natural Products through Inhibiting Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress on Attenuation of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis

With ever-increasing intensive studies of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), significant progresses have been made. Endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS)/unfolded protein reaction (UPR) is associated with the development and progression of IPF, and targeting ERS/UPR may be beneficial in the treatment of IPF. Natural product is a tremendous source of new drug discovery, and accumulating studies have reported that many natural products show potential therapeutic effects for IPF via modulating one or more branches of the ERS signaling pathway. Therefore, this review focuses on critical roles of ERS in IPF development, and summarizes herbal preparations and bioactive compounds which protect against IPF through regulating ERS.

Characterization of volatile organic compounds with anti-atherosclerosis effects in Allium macrostemon Bge. and Allium chinense G. Don by head space solid phase microextraction coupled with gas chromatography tandem mass spectrometry

Introduction

Allium macrostemon Bge. (AMB) and Allium chinense G. Don (ACGD) are both edible Allium vegetables and named officinal Xiebai (or Allii Macrostemonis Bulbus) in East Asia. Their medicinal qualities involve in lipid lowering and anti-atherosclerosis effects. And steroidal saponins, nitrogenous compounds and sulfur compounds are like the beneficial components responsible for medicinal functions. Sulfur compounds are the recognized main components both in the volatile oils of AMB and ACGD. Besides, few researches were reported about their holistic chemical profiles of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and pharmacodynamic effects.

Methods

In this study, we first investigated the lipid-lowering and anti-atherosclerotic effects of volatile oils derived from AMB and ACGD in ApoE ^-/- mice with high fat and high cholesterol diets.

Results

The results showed the volatile oils of AMB and ACGD both could markedly reduce serum levels of TG, TC, and LDL-C (p < 0.05), and had no alterations of HDL-C, ALT, and AST levels (p > 0.05). Pathological results displayed they both could obviously improve the morphology of cardiomyocytes and the degree of myocardial fibrosis in model mice. Meanwhile, oil red O staining results also proved they could apparently decrease the lesion areas of plaques in the aortic intima (p < 0.05). Furthermore, head space solid phase microextraction coupled with gas chromatography tandem mass spectrometry combined with metabolomics analysis was performed to characterize the VOCs profiles of AMB and ACGD, and screen their differential VOCs. A total of 121 and 115 VOCs were identified or tentatively characterized in the volatile oils of AMB and ACGD, respectively. Relative-quantification results also confirmed sulfur compounds, aldehydes, and heterocyclic compounds accounted for about 85.6% in AMB bulbs, while approximately 86.6% in ACGD bulbs were attributed to sulfur compounds, ketones, and heterocyclic compounds. Multivariate statistical analysis showed 62 differentially expressed VOCs were observed between AMB and ACGD, of which 17 sulfur compounds were found to be closely associated with the garlic flavor and efficacy.

Discussion

Taken together, this study was the first analysis of holistic chemical profiles and anti-atherosclerosis effects of AMB and ACGD volatile oils, and would benefit the understanding of effective components in AMB and ACGD.

A UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS-based serum and urine metabolomics approach reveals the mechanism of Gualou-Xiebai herb pair intervention against atherosclerosis process in ApoE-/- mice

Atherosclerosis (AS) is a metabolic disorder commonly correlated with a high-fat diet (HFD). There are many endogenous metabolic changes associated with AS development. Gualou-Xiebai (GLXB) is a traditional Chinese medicine herb pair that has been used to treat AS. However, the mechanism of GLXB herb pair on the process of AS is still essentially unknown. In this study, aortic histopathological examination and biochemical analyses were used to validate the anti-atherosclerotic effects of GLXB herb pair on ApoE^-/- mice during the disease course of AS. The mechanism of GLXB herb pair were performed by metabolomics approach based on ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS). As a result, GLXB herb pair has protective effects on AS lesion development and improves blood lipid levels in ApoE^-/- mice. A total of 34, 39, and 49 metabolites were found to be profoundly altered in the 9-week, 14-week, and 19-week model groups compared with the corresponding control groups. Among them, 16, 18, and 18 metabolites showed a trend toward normal levels after pharmacological intervention. Metabolic pathway analysis found that GLXB herb pair mainly affects glycerophospholipid metabolism, pentose and glucuronate interconversions in 9 weeks; linoleic acid metabolism, cysteine and methionine metabolism, and arachidonic acid metabolism in 14 weeks; arachidonic acid metabolism and pentose and glucuronate interconversions in 19 weeks. The results demonstrated that GLXB herb pair mainly played a therapeutic role by regulating glycerophospholipid metabolism and pentose and glucuronate interconversions in the whole process of AS.

Integration of metabolomics and transcriptomics to reveal anti-chronic myocardial ischemia mechanism of Gualou Xiebai decoction

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Gualou Xiebai decoction (GLXB), a well-known classic traditional Chinese medicine formula, is a recorded and proven therapy for the management of cardiac diseases. However, its pharmacological characteristics and mechanism of action are unclear.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The effects of GLXB and its mechanism of action in an isoprenaline-induced rat model of chronic myocardial ischemia (CMI) were investigated by incorporating metabonomics and transcriptomics. Meanwhile, the echocardiographic evaluation, histopathological analysis, serum biochemistry assay, TUNEL assay and western blot analysis were detected to revealed the protective effects of GLXB on CMI.

RESULTS

The results of echocardiographic evaluation, histopathological analysis and serum biochemistry assay revealed that GLXB had a significantly cardioprotective performance by reversing echocardiographic abnormalities, restoring pathological disorders and converting the serum biochemistry perturbations. Further, the omics analysis indicated that many genes and metabolites were regulated after modeling and GLXB administration, and maintained the marked "high-low" or "low-high" trends. Meanwhile, the results from integrated bioinformatics analysis suggested that the interaction network mainly consisted of amino acid and organic acid metabolism. The results of TUNEL assay and western blot analysis complemented the findings of integrated analysis of metabolomics and transcriptomics.

CONCLUSION

These findings suggested that GLXB has a curative effect in isoproterenol-induced CMI in rats. Integrated analysis based on transcriptomics and metabolomics studies revealed that the mechanism of GLXB in alleviating CMI was principally by the regulation of energy homeostasis and apoptosis, which was through a multi-component and multi-target treatment modality.

Deciphering the combination mechanisms of Gualou–Xiebai herb pair against atherosclerosis by network pharmacology and HPLC-Q-TOF-MS technology

Introduction: Gualou (Trichosanthes kirilowii Maxim)–Xiebai (Allium macrostemon Bunge) (GLXB) is a well-known herb pair against atherosclerosis (AS). However, the combination mechanisms of GLXB herb pair against AS remain unclear.

Objective: To compare the difference in efficacy between GLXB herb pair and the single herbs and to explore the combination mechanisms of GLXB against AS in terms of compounds, targets, and signaling pathways.

Methods: The combined effects of GLXB were evaluated in AS mice. The main compounds of GLXB were identified via quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF-MS) and UNIFI informatics platforms. The united mechanisms of GLXB in terms of nodes, key interactions, and functional clusters were realized by network pharmacology. At last, the anti-atherosclerotic mechanisms of GLXB were validated using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and Western blot in AS mice.

Results: The anti-atherosclerotic effects of the GLXB herb pair (6 g/kg) were more significant than those of Gualou (4 g/kg) and Xiebai (2 g/kg) alone. From the GLXB herb pair, 48 main components were identified. In addition, the GLXB herb pair handled more anti-atherosclerotic targets and more signaling pathways than Gualou or Xiebai alone, whereas 10 key targets of GLXB were found using topological analysis. Furthermore, the GLXB herb pair (6 g/kg) could suppress the inflammatory target levels of IL-6, IL-1β, TNF-α, ALOX5, PTGS2, and p-p38 in AS mice. GLXB herb pair (6 g/kg) could also ameliorate endothelial growth and function by regulating the levels of VEGFA, eNOS, p-AKT, VCAM-1, and ICAM-1 and reducing macrophage adhesion to vascular wall in AS mice. GLXB herb pair (6 g/kg) could improve the blood lipid levels in AS mice. In addition, the regulating effects of GLXB herb pair (6 g/kg) on levels of IL-1β, TNF-α, ALOX5, VEGFA, eNOS, VCAM-1, ICAM-1, and blood lipids were more significant than those of Gualou (4 g/kg) or Xiebai alone (2 g/kg).

Conclusion: The combination mechanisms of the GLXB herb pair were elucidated in terms of components, targets, and signaling pathways, which may be related to suppressing inflammation, regulating vascular endothelial growth/function, and improving blood lipid levels.

The chemical and metabolite profiles of Gualou-Xiebai-Banxia decoction, a classical traditional Chinese medicine formula, by using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry and in-house software

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Gualou-Xiebai-Banxia decoction (GXBD) was a classical traditional Chinese medicine formula for the treatment of coronary heart disease. However, the current study on the chemical and metabolite profiles of GXBD did not follow the ancient prescription and extraction method, which hindered the discovery of effective compounds and quality control.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In this study, we prepared GXBD by ancient prescription and extraction methods, and then analysed the chemical components and xenobiotics of GXBD in vivo using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry and in-house software.

RESULTS

49 chemical constituents were preliminarily identified, including 7 terpenoids, 6 flavonoids, 5 alkaloids, 17 organic acids, 8 steroids and steroidal saponins, 2 nucleosides and 4 other types of compounds, of which 10 constituents were confirmed unambiguously with authentic standards. Moreover, 129 metabolites were tentatively identified, including 83 metabolites in plasma, 39 metabolites in urine, 25 metabolites in bile and 9 metabolites in feces. Our study speculated that luteolin, adenosine, vanillic acid and curbitacin B might be possible effective components of GXBD for the treatment of coronary heart disease. Dehydration, deglycosylation, dehydrogenation, acetylation and taurine regulation were the main biotransformation reactions of GXBD.

CONCLUSION

Our results provided an important basis for the discovery of effective compounds and quality control of GXBD. In addition, in-house software was an useful tool for identifcation of metabolites.

Natural Products Are a Promising Source for Anthelmintic Drug Discovery

Parasitic nematodes infect almost all forms of life. In the human context, parasites are one of the major causative factors for physical and intellectual growth retardation in the developing world. In the agricultural setting, parasites have a great economic impact through a reduction in livestock performance or control cost. The main method of controlling these devastating conditions is the use of anthelmintic drugs. Unfortunately, there are only a few anthelmintic drug classes available in the market and significant resistance has developed in most of the parasitic species of livestock. Therefore, development of new anthelmintics with different modes of action is critical for sustainable parasitic control in the future. The drug development pipeline is broadly limited to two types of molecules, namely synthetic compounds and natural plant products. Compared to synthetic compounds, natural products are highly diverse, and many have historically proven valuable in folk medicine to treat various gastrointestinal ailments. This review focus on the use of traditional knowledge-based plant extracts in the development of new therapeutic leads, the approaches used as screening techniques, and common bottlenecks and opportunities in plant-based anthelmintic drug discovery.

Structure, Bioactivity and Analytical Methods for the Determination of Yucca Saponins

Yucca is one of the main sources of steroidal saponins, hence different extracts are commercialized for use as surfactant additives by beverage, animal feed, cosmetics or agricultural products. For a deeper understanding of the potential of the saponins that can be found in this genus, an exhaustive review of the structural characteristics, bioactivities and analytical methods that can be used with these compounds has been carried out, since there are no recent reviews on the matter. Thus, a total of 108 saponins from eight species of the genus Yucca have been described. Out of these, the bioactivity of 68 saponins derived from the isolation of Yucca or other genera has been evaluated. Regarding the evaluation and quality control of the saponins from this genus LC-MS technique is the most often used. Nevertheless, the development of methods for their routine analysis in commercial preparations are needed. Moreover, most of the studies found in the literature have been carried out on Y. schidigera extract, since is the most often used for commercial purposes. Only eight of the 50 species that belong to this genus have been studied, which clearly indicates that the identification of saponins present in Yucca genus is still an unresolved question.

Yanyu Decoction for Aged Patients with Stable Coronary Artery Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background

There was limited evidence of treatments aiming at aged coronary artery disease (CAD) patients. Yanyu decoction (YD) has been used as adjuvant therapy in aged patients with stable CAD and might be a new treatment worthy of recommendation for CAD patients. This study was to evaluate the combined effects of YD plus conventional pharmaceutical treatment (CPT) on senile patients with stable CAD.

Methods

This review was designed according to the PRISMA (Preferred Reported Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis) recommendations. A literature search was conducted in seven electronic databases from their inception until August 2020. Primary outcomes of interest were adverse cardiovascular events, including cardiac mortality, acute myocardial infarction (AMI), and unstable angina (UA). The secondary outcomes were blood lipids and hemorheology. Studies were pooled to calculate the risk ratio or weighted mean difference and corresponding 95% confidence interval.

Results

Five studies recruiting 848 aged patients with stable CAD were included. Patients receiving YD as an adjuvant have fewer adverse cardiovascular events, including cardiac mortality, AMI, and UA. Besides, YD plus CPT has a better effect on reducing triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and improving high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Moreover, significant effects of YD plus CPT for reducing blood viscosity, plasma viscosity, and platelet aggregation rate were found compared with CPT alone.

Conclusion

YD plus CPT showed better efficacy than CPT on reducing adverse cardiovascular events and improving hemorheology and blood lipids for aged patients with stable CAD. Our findings may suggest YD as an adjuvant natural-based treatment for CAD. However, more rigorous and larger trials are essential to validate our results, and further consideration of CAD studies specific to aged patients is needed.

Chemical profiling and quality evaluation of Zhishi-Xiebai-Guizhi Decoction by UPLC-Q-TOF-MS and UPLC fingerprint

Zhishi-Xiebai-Guizhi Decoction (ZSXBGZD), a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) formula, has been used for treatment of coronary heart disease and myocardial infarction for nearly two thousand years. However, the chemical composition of ZSXBGZD is still unclear. In order to obtain the chemical profile of ZSXBGZD, an ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF-MS) method was utilized for the identification of its multi-constituents. As a result, a total of 148 compounds were identified based on their retention times, accurate masses and MS/MS data. In addition, an optimized UPLC fingerprint analysis, combined with chemometrics such as similarity analysis (SA), hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA), principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) was developed for quality assessment of ZSXBGZD. Multivariate data analysis revealed that samples could be classified correctly according to their geographic origins, and four compounds neohesperidin, naringin, guanosine and adenosine contributed the most to classification. The established UPLC method with multi-wavelength detection was further validated and implemented for simultaneous quantification of 12 representative ingredients in the prescription, including guanosine, adenosine, 2'-deoxyadenoside, syringin, magnoloside A, forsythoside A, naringin, hesperidin, cinnamaldehyde, neohesperidin, honokiol and magnolol. This is the first report on the comprehensive profiling of major chemical components in ZSXBGZD. The results of the study could help to uncover the chemical basis of ZSXBGZD and possess potential value for quality evaluation purpose.

BaiJiu Increases Nitric Oxide Bioactivity of Chinese Herbs Used to Treat Coronary Artery Disease Through the NO3--NO2--NO Pathway

BaiJiu (BJ) is a type of Chinese rice wine combined with the traditional Chinese herbs GuaLou (GL) and XieBai (XB), which have been used to treat and prevent coronary artery disease for nearly 2000 years in China. However, the mechanisms behind the compatibility of the components of this compound (GLXBBJ) have not been deeply investigated. In this study, the compatibility of the GLXBBJ compounds with nitric oxide (NO) bioactivity was evaluated in herbs, cells, and isolated aortic rings. Nitrate (NO3) and nitrite (NO2) concentrations were quantified by the Griess method. Nitric oxide (NO) was quantified by a multifunctional enzyme marker using a fluorescent probe. Qualitative analysis of L-arginine-endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) was performed by Western blotting. The tension of aortic rings was measured by multimyograph system. The ability of BJ to reduce NO3 to NO2 and NO2 to NO was strongest under hypoxic conditions and was not affected by temperature. BJ-containing serum significantly decreased the NO3 content and increased the NO2 content in hypoxic cells. Combining BJ with GL, XB, or GLXB resulted in stronger vasodilation effects. These results demonstrate that BJ effectively reduces NO3/NO2, although only a small amount of NO3 is present. Once combined with GL, XB, or GLXB, which are rich in NO3/NO2, robust NO bioactivity was generated through the NO3-NO2-NO pathway. Therefore, this study supports the potential of using traditional Chinese herbs for promoting medical innovation and for future drug development.